Would you buy this watch (if you could afford it)?

#180

My Dear Friend of Democracy,

Democracy equalizes living conditions. Because the majority decides. And the majority does not easily accept that a minority leads a privileged, luxurious life (as was the case in monarchies for thousands of years).

This is a positive development.

And yet, there are luxury goods all around us. Because people are known to be social creatures. People like to be above others. At least some. They do this, for example, by trying to be more economically successful than others and by showing off their success.

For example, by wearing expensive watches.

The watch in the advertisement in the photo above, which I took in Belgrade, Serbia, on 07 August 2024, costs 19,800 euros. That is more than a Serbian's average gross annual salary, which is 14,600 euros.

Isn't it weird that people feel the need to show others how much richer they are? And isn't it even more bizarre that there are people who are impressed by it?

✊ The American polymath Benjamin Franklin once said: “True wealth is having health and knowledge of self.”

See you in Europe,

Johannes